Love in the Frozen Food Aisle
by Teefa and Co
Summary: One shot story about the gang going shopping for Kaitlyn's birthday party and experiencing different degrees of love. Slight JxV but not a romance story.


**Love in the Frozen Food Aisle**

"Honey," Catherine Winslett spoke up, "Do you and your friends mind if you go to the store for me? I would, but I have to get the house in order. Oh, and take Kaitlyn with you. After all, I wouldn't want her to know about her surprise birthday party." The woman was busy taking out some balloons and cake making supplies out of the pantry. She still needed some drinks and snacks; as well as the normal, everyday food items. Clive could pick them up at the Wholesale Supermarket on the outskirts of town while she prepared.

"It will be no trouble at all. With the four of us working together, we can get this done much faster. I'll just leave the more suspicious items to the other three. I can buy a bag of snacks maybe, and a bottle of soda, but only one apiece. Kaitlyn will think I'm simply buying them for the family that way. But I won't go to the checkout until I'm sure that Jet, Virginia, and Gallows have each purchased the appropriate number of treats to make this a special occasion," Clive replied. He looked to the others, who simply shrugged at it.

Jet muttered, "Nothing better to do today, so I guess I'll go." His comment was met with a playful punch in the arm by Virginia. She could hit pretty hard for a girl; that's for sure. Apparently, she didn't like his attitude as usual. But then again, he was used to it. The girl smiled before agreeing to help them out.

Gallows smiled as well. "I'll definitely help out Kaitlyn's party. Just divide up a list and I'll help you to get the items." Catherine then proceeded to hand each one of the four a list of items that were needed. Then they all went outside in order to find Kaitlyn. Jet was groaning at the amount of food he had to look for.

"Kaitlyn," called Clive, "We're going to go shopping. Your mother needs to clean the whole hose so she asked you to come along and help me out." Hearing her beloved father's voice, the young girl ran from her position alongside the house where she had been reading. She giggled and then gave him a large hug.

"Ok Daddy. I love it when we get to spend time together. Especially since today is my birthday. I guess Mommy wants it to look nice when we have cake tonight. She did the same thing last year too," the child stated. Of course, last year she didn't have a large surprise party. Not to the extent of this year's.

S...S

So the five set out to the large supermarket on the edge of town. It was about the same size as the Leyline Observatory, and packed with people. Jet groaned. He had never been to a market of this size in his life. Sure he'd gone shopping at small local street vendors, and Roykman had supplied some of his food in the past, but never in the large indoor markets. How would he be able to find all the items on his list?

He inquired of Clive, "So genius, how do you go about finding stuff in a place so large? I find it a tad inconvenient if you ask me. I always shop in the smaller outdoor markets. There, everything is lined up right in front of you. There are no confusing aisles, nor these strange metal baskets that you push around."

The sniper looked at his companion. "Those would be the shopping carts Jet. And as for finding the items in a place this large, well everything is labeled. As you can see, we have frozen food in aisle one, canned food in aisle two, snacks in aisle three, cereal in aisle four, etcetera. All you have to do is look at the items you need and determine which category they belong in. Oh, and remember that there is a second row of aisles in back, so if you cant find something in any of these categories then you should try there."

"If it confuses you that much then come with me Jet," offered Virginia, "I remember the first time I went to one of these places with Daddy. He was getting some things for a party with friends, probably to celebrate some achievement of the Council, and took me along when I asked. It looked pretty scary to be in a place with so many strangers; all who were at least fifteen to twenty years older than me. But I wasn't as scared since I had Daddy by my side. So come on, let's get going." She took his hand and led him off to the snack aisle to get the supplies for the party. Jet felt like she was pulling his arm off, but he didn't care.

"Then I will be off as well. Come along Kaitlyn, the sooner we get done with this then the sooner we can go back home. I trust you can behave yourself while I'm gone, Gallows," he said. The Baskar nodded; it was only shopping after all. Then, the man took his daughter's hand and was off to pick up some bread. Gallows waited another minute or so before going to the drink aisle for the soda and ingredients for punch.

S...S

As he picked up a large loaf of bread, Kaitlyn stated, "I'm happy to be here with you, Daddy. It's nice to spend time together. We never get a chance because you always were away trying to fight the bad people and make a nicer Filgaia. Now, when all of your old problems are gone, those mean men are trying to kill you, Aunt Virginia, Uncle Jet, and Uncle Gallows. So you still can't come back in fear of me and Mommy getting hurt because of it. But now, we can spend all the time together that we want to. After all, it is my birthday. I am so happy that you were able to make it home for it again. Daddy, I really love you."

He dropped the bread in the cart and embraced his child. "I love you too Kaitlyn. You are one of the most important people to me in this world. You and your mother both. I promise to do everything in my power to keep you both safe from harm. Even if I must forfeit my own life in order to save the two of you."

Of course, the people who were walking by were staring at the strange scene in the aisle. But then the citizens of Humphrey's Peak always knew Clive to be one for moments like that. It was in part what made him such a good father despite his constant absence. He would do anything for his family; his whole journey had been for the sake of creating a better world for his daughter to grow up in. Love is not only expressed in words or in being together. Love is a combination of the true feelings a person has and actions that person does in his or her life. When those feelings and actions are for the sake of others, that is love.

S...S

Having purchased the necessary snacks for the party, Jet and Virginia moved onto the canned food aisle. Catherine wanted some soup, as well as a few cans of frosting to use in making special decorations for the cake. However, as Virginia grabbed the necessary items, Jet was staring at an entire row of canned peaches. There were so many varieties that he had never seen before. It made him think back to the first time he ever ate peaches. Werner had went shopping; leaving the boy to practice with his ARM on his own. When the older man had come back, he had some canned fruit varieties with him. He claimed that the juice inside of the fruits was good for the boy's system; healthy vitamins and minerals were inside. Although Jet ate every one of them, it was the peaches that he liked the most. So Werner began buying plenty of cans of peaches every time they were in town. Jet got so used to eating them that he never forgot to pick them up when he was left to his own devices. He let those thoughts sink in; he actually had a happy memory!

"Jet," began Virginia, "I always wanted to ask you. How come you always eat peaches? Sure they are a good fruit and all, but why not pineapples, or cherries? I'm just curious to know more about you. You never want to tell us anything about yourself. I wish I could get to know you even better than I do right now."

"Well, your old man brought canned fruit one day because he wanted me to be healthy. I just kind of liked the peaches the best. What, does there have to be a specific reason for me to like foods now or something?" he snapped back. But then he immediately apologized. Which surprised him more than it did Virginia. Since when did Jet Enduro apologize? It had surprised him to do it at Fila del Fia before as well.

Virginia told him, "I just want to know more about you. You know about me, Clive, and Gallows, yet we know little about what you like besides Gella and peaches. I thought that if I knew why you liked it so much I could understand you more. I feel this strange sense of comfort when I'm with you. I want to know what it is, and if I could give you a similar feeling. I don't want you to be alone anymore, I want you to be with me." Immediately, both of them turned beet red. She instantly regretted having told that to his face.

Jet looked to her; the blush still covering his face. 'A feeling of comfort huh? I wonder if it's the same one I feel when around her. That's the one that always makes me do silly things like protect her from the enemy, feel the blood rushing to my head whenever I look at her, or watch over her as she sleeps when I'm on watch. It's actually a real nice feeling. Probably why I do these things, I wish only to keep that nice feeling inside of me. Is it the emotion that humans call love? Am I actually capable of feeling the one thing that I thought I never would have; even when I believed I was a human being myself? Something inside of me tells me that I'm right. Strangely enough, I hope that feeling is speaking the truth. I want her with me as well. Darn it! Now my mind's rambling on like an idiot. Probably part of that emotion as well as comfort.'

Young love often comes on so quickly that we find we are unable to stop it. Anyone who can feel the emotions of humans can feel this one. Thus, even an artificial being can and will be struck by Raftina at least once in his life. But just as quickly as it comes on, it can fade away. Sometimes, you lose that feeling before you even know what it is. Then you are left alone once more. However, when the hidden stings of love keep dogging you for as long as they have dogged this female Drifter and her companion, then it is almost certain that they will eventually be able to find out how they really feel. It just takes time to sort out these confusing emotions in the young minds. Especially when the two of them are stubborn as mules.

S...S

Gallows walked up to the gorgeous blond who was grabbing some meat from the frozen food. He winked at her and asked her to go out on a date. She simply "harrumphed" at his advances and turned away. The man let out a sigh; that was the sixth girl who had turned him down that day. At the rate he was going at, he would die a virgin. That was perhaps the most frightening thing to Gallows. He wanted to get laid at least once before he bit the big one. Especially now with the Ark on their tails, he had to find a girl to spend the night with. His chances of an early death had just shot up; and this was a risk he wouldn't take.

"Man this blows," he muttered, "I spent all day looking for girls while I shopped. I had more luck at the market in Little Twister; those girls at least let me talk for awhile. And there were fewer people there. I have to get the next girl to sleep with me or I'm going to go crazy." He looked ahead of him and saw a young girl with long silver hair--the same shade as Jet's--worn up in a ponytail, a pair of black pants with a flame design near the bottom of each leg, a red shirt, leather boots, a leather pocket vest, and red gloves without the fingers. Across her back, she had a large broadsword strapped. However, she looked to only be about sixteen or seventeen; and he was not going to get in trouble for having an affair with a minor.

"Ok, the next woman then," the man stated. However, the woman who followed looked to be around fifty. But she didn't look it. Her red hair was long and vibrant, and she had on a white dress with a blue cord tied around her waist, as well as blue ribbons sewn into the billowing sleeves of the robe, a blue headband, and a pair of leather boots under the robe. He could only tell because he sensed life patterns in humans. That helped him to determine the approximate age of a person. The only reason Gallows remembered how to do it was that it kept him from getting in trouble with girls who looked a little older than they really were.

He muttered, "First all the girls reject me, then I can't find anyone except kids and old ladies. I said it before and I'll say it again. This really blows…" The Baskar walked through the aisles of the store, made the occasional pass at a lady, and got rejected. By the time he got to the checkout, he was flustered.

You should never try to rush love. It is best to be patient and wait until you feel a connection with someone. Not to say that you shouldn't go out and look for love, but it's not a good idea to go home with every person you meet. Time will tell whether or not your choice was a good one. But by asking complete strangers to go out with you right out of the blue, it makes more trouble for you than is worth it all.

S...S

After Clive had finished all his shopping, he took Kaitlyn to the park with him. He'd run into Jet and Virginia after leaving the market and gave them his bags to take home. Gallows was still hitting on girls and no one knew where to find him. But Catherine still had things to do so he brought the little girl somewhere else to spend time together. They stayed there until it was time for supper, and then headed back home.

As they entered the darkened house, Kaitlyn was confused. Suddenly, the lights all went on. "Surprise! Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!" She saw her mother, Aunt Virginia, Uncle Jet, Uncle Gallows, and a group of her friends from town. Even the merchant Roykman had come; giving the girl a book he had brought off of Maya Schroedinger. Kaitlyn let out a squeal of delight, and gave both her parents a hug.

"You have to thank your Aunt Virginia and Uncles Jet and Gallows too," Clive said, "Without them, we would never have gotten all the supplies. You would have either been too suspicious as we shopped, or left home and saw what your mother was up to. We thought it best to split up and work separately on it."

So Kaitlyn gave each of them a hug as well. The only people who had ever come for her birthday were her parents. Now, she could see everyone she cared about gathered around to celebrate with her. The love and kindness they showed to her that day in coming here…that was the best present of all.

* * *

**Teefa's Last Words...**

Well, I was talking about shopping at the large Wholesale markets once with Mistress Jay, when I was inspired to write this. Originally, I wanted to make it a chapter based story, but found I couldn't BS each of the separate concepts of love long enough; unless Jet and Virginia had fifty arguments and Gallows got slammed by at least fifty girls. So I made it a one shot. Oh, and the two women I described are from a future story I plan on writing about this girl who receives a vision about someone close to her, and goes on a quest to find this person. The two of them are mother and daughter; two years younger and thirty two years older than Virginia respectively.


End file.
